Though Pedraza brought with him from Spain a number of friars, they do not seem to have been very zealous in the work of reforming the settlers or converting the natives. At times many days passed during which no divine service was held, and the cabildo attributed the omission to the neglect of the bishop, "who," they said, "was too busy with his worldly affairs to attend to his duties properly." The ecclesiastics appear, however, to have been very successful in selling papal bulls among the Indian villages, a practice which was continued till 1547, when a royal cédula put an end to this shameful traffic. Their charges for saying mass or for funeral services were exorbitant. To confess a person residing at a distance of one league cost thirty castellanos, and to watch for a single night by the bedside of a deceased cacique, one hundred and thirty xiquipilli of cacao. Desirous of making at least some show of missionary zeal the prelate recommended that a cathedral be erected and schools established in all Indian towns which were in the neighborhood of Spanish settlements. The former recommendation was adopted, and notwithstanding the protestations of the audiencia of the Confines, the site selected was at Trujillo,[XVII‑19] the bishop's salary being fixed at five hundred thousand maravedís, though soon afterward he petitioned that his stipend be increased to two thousand ducats. * * * * * [Sidenote: AUDIENCIA DE LOS CONFINES.] When the new code of laws abolished the audiencia of Panamá and appointed the audiencia of the Confines,[XVII‑20] Alonso de Maldonado was elected its first president[XVII‑21] through the recommendation of Las Casas, the remaining oidores being the licentiates Diego de Herrera, of whom mention has been made in connection with the province of Nicaragua, Pedro Ramirez de Quiñones, and Juan Rogel. Maldonado was directed to establish the seat of government at Comayagua, which was thenceforth to be known as Nueva Villa de Valladolid, but finding that location unsuitable he selected as a more favorable site Gracias á Dios, where in 1545 the first session of the tribunal was held.[XVII‑22] The arrival of Maldonado was celebrated with much rejoicing among the settlers; but their joy was short-lived, for one of the first measures of the audiencia was the publication of the new code of laws which, they declared, was to be strictly and immediately enforced so far as it related to the manumission of the Indians.